Van Helsing: Blood Rain
by FireBlood Sentry
Summary: Dracula has returned. Van Helsing and Carl struggle to keep a certain small girl with the capacity to destroy —and create— entire worlds far from his influence.
1. Prologue: Vlad's Soliloquy

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the Van Helsing characters. I only own Kida. The italicized composition also does not belong to me. It belongs to an anonymous writer.

**Van Helsing: Blood Rain**

**Prologue: Vlad's Soliloquy**

_The soul, forever bound by its eternal fate, recognizes the need for surcease._

_Human souls, ever sensitive to pain and agony to short but blissful bursts of joy, are placed in us humans, to breathe in us life. Life is carried by the innate fraility that is the soul._

_It is highly possible that the soul is remerged by an outer force into another human being after its vessel has withered away. And because the soul cannot contain memories, the person born that is merged with it will not remember any so-called past lives except for only a few fragments —sensations— that one has been to this place or that before._

_Human minds are the ones that carry memories, and therefore the soul cannot take those with it as the human body is not eternal._

_I conclude with the cheerful thought that this soul I carry will pass on to another after my body weakens and is too frail to contain it. It must be clean._

_So Lord… help me be clean._

—Count Vladislaus Valerious, 1449


	2. Chapter One: Echoed Pain

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the Van Helsing characters. I only own Kida. The italicized composition also does not belong to me. It belongs to an anonymous writer.

**Van Helsing: Blood Rain**

**Chapter One: Echoed Pain**

The Count stood on his balcony, reveling in the cold winds that blew up from the chasm surrounding the castle. Down below, he heard Igor and his beloved electric torture device torment the werewolf bellowing in irritated agony. Everything was going as well as expected.

He turned on his heel and began languidly walking into his enormous sleeping chambers — candles and torches lined the walls and floors, though eerily seemed to attract the countless shadows that danced merrily about.

With a light smirk, he circled around his bride's blood pool that connected to the torture chamber in the next wing.

The howling suddenly faded out replaced by completely human cries of exhaustive pain.

The little man's grunts barely reached his ears as the pain drove him to the brink of unconsciousness.

Then a drawling voice called to him… "Gabriel…"

Struggling with the leash tugging at his consciousness, he looked up to see a tall blur of black towering over him. He groaned, and doubled over with pain while the voice rippled against the stone walls. It made the surrounding chamber feel remotely empty.

Dracula called the small hunchback off from tormenting him before taking a step forward.

The tall blur kneeled to Van Helsing's level and tugged lightly at the chains holding him to the wall. Steel links —developed by the Dwergi that constantly occupy themselves with the making of various torture devices — clinked against the bloodstained stone.

"You know what I seek." The voice, dripping with deep Transylvanian accent remarked.

Van Helsing coughed blood. The vampire watched with amusement as the man struggled to pronounce the words with a slightly mangled British voice; "What are you talking about?"

"The girl." The hunchback in the corner spoke. "Where is the GIRL?" The hunchback stood, infuriated by Van Helsing's persistence to hiding her. Dracula gestured for him to sit back down. With a heavy sigh, Igor complied, wearing a sour frown.

The vampire calmly continued, "The small, annoying, pink-covered little insect. We need it. Where is it?"

Van Helsing tiredly replied, "I don't know…"

A quick surge of electricity flowed smoothly through Van Helsing's lean, muscular body. He cried out with the volume of a man possessed and the pleading tone of a beautiful phoenix held captive.

Igor stood there beside his master, holding the electric metal prongs to Van Helsing's chains.

Dracula on the other hand briefly admired the fleeting spark of anger in the lycan's eyes, only to be drowned by the intense writhing energy pulsing within him. He watched him for a few more moments before signaling Igor to stop.

Van Helsing kneeled there, in chains, panting and quivering, holding himself in an attempt to keep his body from convulsing.

"Sad."

The vampire lowered his lips to the pulse in Van Helsing's neck. It raced furiously, much to the satisfaction of the now enthralled Count. A sadistic smile caressed his lips. "I wonder… whatever happened to that calm countenance of yours, Van Helsing?" A chuckle echoed in the stone.

"Pathetic."


	3. Chapter Two: Heartbeat

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the Van Helsing characters. I only own Kida. The italicized composition also does not belong to me. It belongs to an anonymous writer.

**Van Helsing: Blood Rain**

**Chapter Two: Heartbeat**

He resisted the urge to cry, now alone in the desolate chamber, chains, blood and rotting bodies accompanying him.

He was cold.

His body couldn't withstand the freezing climes in which Castle Dracula now stood. His muscles still convulsed and shivered, and even the searing pain hadn't reduced the chill biting and gnawing at his scarred skin.

He knew, though, this wasn't his worst. Though the pain had seemed to take on its own will and had restrained him from the recall, he realized that even his own fervent want and sheer will would not be able to keep him from the memories that Dracula had recently revealed to him.

It was the eternal curse of the great monster hunter — to remember.

---oOo---

A small girl was brought into the Holy See; clad in all pink, but looked very adorable in some way.

Gabriel Van Helsing waited impatiently for the monk to release her into his care. He was very fortunate that Cardinal Fraunz — a strict, by-the-book follower of the See — had allowed this after the hunter had shown some degree of polite reasoning and pointed out some undeniable dangers if the object the accursed Dracula sought after was not properly taken care of.

Little had he known that this "object" was a small, three-foot-tall female child.

He looked down at the trembling little girl. "This is it?"

The monk nodded curtly. "This is the Host."

The "Host", not knowing what was conspiring between the two tall, intimidating figures, gave a soft whimper and shifted nervously.

The hunter, having quite an attraction to small children, gave her a soft, charming smile and kneeled to her eye level, taking her hand in his — it was a very frail hand, very small compared to his well-matured, trained one. She must've felt more secure at this show of comfort and relaxed her hold on a small, stuffed griffin.

He wondered about it for a moment, finding it strange for a small girl to have a stuffed mythical creature as a comfort object, but after a while, decided it would be best to ask about it after he'd provided her with a place to sleep.

"What's your name?"

The little girl hesitated, but then smiled back in the most peculiarly endearing way. "Kida." Van Helsing was in wonder at the little voice. "Kida Prasarn."

The hunter brought the little girl to his lodgings just outside the See. He had provided her with a small cot next to his bed. Van Helsing seemed to have met his match argumentatively; the little girl refused to sleep on the cot and insisted she sleep beside _him_ on _his_ bed.

After much difficulty on both parties, Kida ended the victor.

Van Helsing at last surrendered to the persistent little girl's pleas, on the condition that Kida recount all that had happened to her these past few days in addition to giving him the stuffed griffin's origins.

Having no other option, Kida agreed.

"The tall man saved me from the big wolf that killed my daddy…" She continued, holding the griffin firmly. She snuggled closer to the hunter's naked chest, in innocent pursuit of warmth.

"He took me somewhere cold…" Van listened intently to the girl. "I was scared of him."

"Why? Did he hurt you?" Van Helsing asked with renewed worry. Much to his relief, she shook her head. "He saved me, silly!" She said with a soft, childish giggle. "He was the one that gave me this flying lion…uhm…bird…? Thingy…?"

He chuckled at the girl's precious attempts at enlightening him on the stuffed animal. She blushed cutely, and buried her face in his chest. "I see.

"But, if he saved you, and never hurt you, why would you have any reason to be afraid?"

The little girl fell silent, seeming uncertain whether to express her opinion or not.

After much gentle prodding from Van Helsing, she produced this disturbing statement: "He was dead."

Van's brows knitted, and failing to interpret the girl's statement properly, he asked, "He was… dead? How can that be?"

The girl hid her face further in his blankets and chest. "I don't know… But he was different…"

A long, eerie silence passed before the girl's words came, "His heart…wasn't beating."

---oOo---

"PSSST!" A voice called from between the stone window's iron bars. These were some of the rare moments he loved to hear Carl's nagging voice. "What are you doing? Throw off the chains and let's go!"


	4. Chapter Three: When It Dies

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the Van Helsing characters. I only own Kida. The italicized composition also does not belong to me. It belongs to an anonymous writer.

**Van Helsing: Blood Rain**

**Chapter Three: When It Dies…**

Dracula sat in his sleeping chambers, observing one of the candles on its tall iron stand. He was seated on a very plush, red-patterned couch, leaning his cheek on a fist propped up on an armrest. His legs were regally crossed, and his deep azure eyes stared blankly at the flame.

Marishka, one of his brides, entered the well-lit chamber. "Master?" Her small, high voice reached him even before it echoed against the stone. She smiled, her lips most and tantalizing. The bride made her way toward him, swaying her voluptuous body seductively as the thin cloth failed to hide much of her thighs' pale flesh.

The Count continued to stare at the dripping wax, ignoring the youngest bride's performance.

Undaunted, she sidled herself beside her Master and locked her arm with his, flirting her generous bosom and pressing one of her breasts to his arm. Her pale cheek rested on a black-sleeved shoulder. "What are you doing?" She cooed gently.

Dracula was silent. The bride pouted cutely to attain his attention.

The vampire sighed, and replied with a slightly cryptic query. "What becomes of a candle once it has burned out?"

The question confused the bride, but she was unwilling to allow the conversation slip. "Uhm… It… doesn't melt?"

"Precisely." The puzzled look on the bride's countenance momentarily brightened, but was contorted into an expression of worry when she saw the Master approach the candle and extinguish it. He turned back to her and locked her gaze in his now angered one. Marishka gasped and whimpered quietly. "Master?" Dracula approached her, and cupped her chin, keeping her face toward his. His voice, though, hadn't been tainted by the passionate fury in his eyes. "The same principle applies to Van Helsing. The more the hunter's life is threatened, the more of a nuisance he becomes. Unless he makes an unscheduled visit to the gates of the afterlife."

Marishka could only reply with another whimper. In the distance, a distinct explosion could be heard, followed by the unmistakable scent of the friar's Glycerin 48. Dracula enveloped the frail bride in his arms and took in the scent of her hair. He then whispered seductively into her ear, "You, as one of my brides, will help see him through."

"Marishka!" Verona called amidst Aleera's maniacal cackles, summoning her to the scene.

Marishka turned back to her master, who encouragingly nodded, wearing an ambiguous smile on his lips. The bride smiled in turn, then whirled in the window's direction.

Grey wings unfolded, and claws lengthened, eyes narrowed in shape and a beautiful, savage shriek reached his ears, bathing him in the refreshing aura of young, ardent hatred.

_Gabriel… _—he thought, as Marishka's wings cooled his face as she entered the confusion— _…your destruction… is nigh._

_BE STILL!_


	5. Chapter Four: Cold Stumble

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the Van Helsing characters. I only own Kida. The italicized composition also does not belong to me. It belongs to an anonymous writer.

**Van Helsing: Blood Rain**

**Chapter Four: Cold Stumble**

They began to tread against the thick snow, away from the looming edifice in the distance. Van Helsing limped as best he could to keep pace with the arm slung around Carl's shoulders. Both men prayed fervently that they would reach the gorge before they'd begin to hear the threatening wails in the distance.

Several times did they stumble, Carl because of the other man's weight, and the hunter as a result of the wounds inflicted by earlier whipping, and several limbs incapacitated due to electric pulses still persistently lingering in his body.

Then a deafening shriek echoed, accompanied by swooping talons reaching to sever the hunter's neck.

He fell… But the peace had not come. Not yet. Then he knew he would remain here until his purpose was fulfilled.

Carl was momentarily shaken by the blood dripping onto his shoulder. But they'd reached the gorge… _He can't die yet._ He thought. _Not yet, Van Helsing! Oh, God, not yet!_

He hastily ruffled through his brown duffel bag and took a flask containing a viscous, thick fluid from its place among his superbly crafted weaponry.

---oOo---

At first glance, it seemed harmless, but as they dived to strike at the small, weak friar, they quickly discovered that the little friar possessed firepower that would equal their Master's.

One flick of the wrist was all that was needed to send a wall of blinding white snow toward the three brides, forcing them to pull back and regroup.

The little friar took this moment of hesitation and used it to flee; taking Van's grapple and shot it toward a tree on the opposite end of the chasm, quickly securing it and, with Van's added weight, leaped from the ledge and hung on for dear life as the metal pulley smoothly slid on the wire and carried them across the dark chasm.

When the brides recovered from their temporary blindness, their prey was gone.

---oOo---

Carl and Van stumbled through the ominous paths through the white forests, with Van continually bleeding a tantalizing trail in their wake. The friar bit his lip at the sight of the contrast of red and white.

Carl quickly kneeled and leaned Van's broken form onto a sturdy tree trunk, emitting a pained groan from the other man. For a moment he hesitated, then cleansed the deep shoulder gash with clean white snow. Van gasped through clenched teeth, then gave a soft whimper as Carl's skilled hands worked to keep the glistening blood from gushing out.

As the weakened man shivered against Carl's touch, the friar began to realize that the Count's abuse had begun to take its toll on the hunter's body, and that the bitter cold had intensified the burden of pain that had been placed upon the man.

Carl quickly finished up and hoisted Van Helsing's arm across his shoulders, supporting his weight and with great difficulty, trod along the snow-covered ground through the desolate wood, thankful that the hunter's trail of blood had ceased.

Minutes later, as the friar's strength waned, he came upon a very welcome sight…


	6. Chapter Five: Castle Valerious

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the Van Helsing characters. I only own Kida. The italicized composition also does not belong to me. It belongs to an anonymous writer.

**Van Helsing: Blood Rain**

**Chapter Five: Castle Valerious**

"Hot cocoa?" Marie, the barmaid, offered. Carl gave a small smile and a polite nod. Marie smiled back. "Alright. Anything for Mister Van Helsing when he awakes?"

Carl's smile faded as he watched his companion on the bed. "I think you should ask him personally when he recovers." Marie nodded, and shortly left the room.

The hunter had been peacefully unconscious for hours, relieved of the exhaustion of the long trek through the piercing cold, and the abuse done on his body. Carl had personally been relieved as well.

_She is still safe._

"Carl…?" Turning toward the soft voice, he saw a small girl, in a light blue nightgown with fine lace trimmings. And, clutched in her small, fragile arms, was a stuffed toy griffin.

---oOo---

Igor sulked at the newly destroyed chamber wall. The rubble emitted hard, earthen sounds when he kicked at them. Dracula appeared behind him.

"Igor," His strong voice rang ominously. "The chamber can be repaired."

"My lord…" Igor remarked respectfully. "It is not the chamber wall I am worried about.

"It is her…" Igor turned, and faced the tall lord who had been shielded by the shadows of the chamber. "We do not yet know where the girl hides…" Dracula merely chuckled at this. "Igor… We know where she hides."

The brides gracefully filtered into the room. Aleera, having her right hand still stained from the hunter's blood, came in last. Verona began, "Master, the hunter—"

"Has fled, yes. And he will remain in hiding, giving refuge to the girl…"

A seductive smirk curled the Count's lips. His eyes glimmered with eerie, determined amber in the shadows. "And so, I arrive at my point." His eyes skimmed Aleera's form teasingly before his gaze settled on her stained hand. He beckoned her to him charmingly. Though the other brides' envies had begun to rise, they were quickly silenced by their Master's strong presence.

The vampire bared Aleera's bloodied hand to Igor as she stepped forward.

"We find the hunter…" He drawled, twirling the bride in a graceful spin.

"…and we find the girl."

---oOo---

"He'll be alright. He only needs a bit of rest." Carl explained, tucking the small girl back into bed. She nodded groggily, childishly resisting needed sleep. "Alright… but… must I sleep…?"

Carl smiled warmly at her. Kissing her forehead, he replied, "Well, only if you want to grow as tall as him." And he gestured over to Van Helsing sleeping across. Kida blushed intensely.

Meekly, she replied, "Okay…"

He patted her hand gently, and pulled the linens up to her chin. "Good girl."

The little girl smiled at the friar once again, seeming to reflect the moon's light in her grin. Such is how Carl viewed it. She took a gaping yawn, cutely distorting her small features and wiping away the fears, anxieties, sadness and anger that had pooled inside him for excruciatingly long hours.

Her eyes closed, and she fell into dreams.

"He's coming." The hunter's voice came. The tone was raspy and exhausted, though he wasted no time in attempting to stand from where he was laid.

"Van Helsing, you shouldn't—" Carl's voice was cut from Van Helsing's earshot by the abrupt slam of the heavy wooden door.

---oOo---

A long, deafening shriek. Then silence.

The Count emerged from a dungeon cell adjoined with the brides' blood pool. He carried a newly disembodied heart, and walked between the bloodstained grooves toward the large, sunken vat of red liquid. His eyes closed at the faint sound of the victim's blood slowly trickling through the grooves and dripping into the vat. The vastness of the chamber amplified the sounds, completing the twisted aura befitting a vampire's home.

A Dwergi entered, bearing a bell wine glass. The lord casually took it, and nodded to dismiss the creature. It obeyed. As it exited, he viciously squeezed the heart, draining it of blood; his face showed no remorse, not a cringe, not a falter. He took pleasure at the sickening sight of blood streaming into the glass.

When the heart was no longer useful, he threw it unceremoniously into the awaiting fireplace. All was well for the vampire. Soon, he knew, the girl would be his.

---oOo---

Van Helsing sat at the castle's steps, patiently awaiting a possible catastrophe.

Marie approached, and offered a mug of hot cocoa already in hand. "Some for you, sir?"

Van Helsing turned, and sincerely returned the barmaid's sweet smile. Of course, most of the barmaid's smiles were returned with the amusing thought of Carl and his past experience with her. No other but Carl's closest companion knew.

_Who knew Carl could be so daring._

"Thank you, Marie." He gladly took the cup from her and took a few large gulps. Marie could not help but giggle at the hunter's enthusiasm. "Well, sir, after you are done out here, please come back inside. Carl is very much worried about you." After this, she retreated inside.

Gabriel stared for hours at the beautiful landscape before him, reviewing the memories that Dracula had given him: the Order… the friendship… the argument. The work he'd done for the Valerious. His frequent quests for the Vatican, and the reason that he did not age.

During the brief time he spent at Castle Dracula, being maimed and physically tormented, Dracula slowly brought his memories to the surface of his consciousness. A much greater curse. Much more torture, knowing his past wrongs, and knowing that Vladislaus Valerious was in the right.

It had been well past midnight when he decided to retire into bed… Only to realize that something had gone terribly, horribly wrong.

"CARL! CARL, WAKE UP!"

Carl groaned, and caught sight of Kida's empty bed.

"SHE'S GONE!"

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Marie is not my character. Although I provided a name for her, Marie is not my character. She is the barmaid from the movie. The barmaid that Carl had —ahem— gracefully rescued. And I apologize for the length of the chapter. I was inspired. I also apologize for Dracula's nonsense cut scene. I couldn't resist. Please review. It keeps the fire of inspiration alive. Constructive criticism is greatly welcomed. (I am not at fault for the long sentences and deep words. I swear.)


	7. Chapter Six: Rebirth

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the Van Helsing characters. I only own Kida. The italicized composition also does not belong to me. It belongs to an anonymous writer.

**Van Helsing: Blood Rain**

**Chapter Six: Rebirth**

"_The girl cannot be used if her nature remains unchanged. She is one born of light, and her trusting innocence may lead to your destruction."_

The child was suspended in thick, clear liquid. Dracula's eyes fixed the containment chamber with an intense, determined gaze as he stood among 47 Dwergi bustling about with circuitry and accompanying sorcery. From above, he heard his loyal Igor barking orders and procedures at the creatures noisily scuffling about on the catwalks.

The inane babble reached the Count's ears as Hungarian instructions and so had no difficulty in supervising the entire project.

Within minutes, the electricity began to surge through the liquid in quick pulses, radically altering the rhythm of her heartbeat, and blackening the heart into submission.

Strong, leathery wings began to appear under the bronze curls, catching the Count's awed gaze. The wings grew, connecting to the child's spine; they based themselves near the girl's shoulder blades, their growth bleeding the child's frail back, though there was no sign of pain. Her expression remained peaceful even as the black pulses won over her body.

The dark baptism commenced, with the Count's powerful voice ringing with the intonation of the Seven Capital Sins, the first of which, was "Pride!"

---oOo---

"This is the second time I've had to go through this passage…"

The hunter stood infront of the large mirror leading to the vampire's palace. Behind him, he could hear the friar busying himself with the Valerious arsenal, taking along those weapons that he thought worthwhile.

He smiled fondly at the soft clank of metal and drew comfort from the nostalgia.

Carl was at his side after a few more seconds of relentless puttering. Van Helsing warily pressed his hand against the glass and watched the mirror's silver give way under his touch.

---oOo---

"Envy!" The child began to twitch and absorb the Count's words, the blackened heart rapidly devouring every strong syllable's tone.

"Lust!" The walls themselves seemed to writhe against the reverberating sound.

Briefly, Igor wondered what lust would do to a little girl. He would soon find out.

---oOo---

Van Helsing sprinted his way past the great hallway, into the serpentine, firelit corridors that twisted, bent, turned, and intertwined with each other; the hunter allowing pure instinct to guide his every step. The staircases winded higher, quickly spiraling upward as Van Helsing's long legs skipped every other stone step.

Normally irreverent as he were, a silent prayer raced through his mind nonetheless; a simple memorized prayer… for Carl… for the girl… for the world… and…

…for himself.

---oOo---

"Greed!" The Count's voice increased its volume and enthusiasm, making the very chamber shudder in anticipation. The volume of his voice lent his heavily accented tone more depth, dominating the electric sizzle of machinery.

"Wrath!" Raw emotion filled the tower, his words influencing the entirety of the structure, as well as instilling great fear and respect among his servants.

---oOo---

The hunter's steps slowed as the crackle of electricity reached his ears. The prayer repeated in his mind as he hoped that Carl had found the route to the tower's catwalk, and that the friar's brilliant mind had somehow concocted a plan of action even as Van Helsing slowly advanced to the low mechanical whirring.

Beyond the closed metal doorway he could hear the intensity of the vampire's voice.

---oOo---

"Sloth…" His voice dropped to a low drawl as he uttered the word, effortlessly sending chills in the spines of the living that stood inside the large chamber, including one inconspicuous friar.

Carl stood on the catwalk, observing the scene; the Dwergi too occupied to notice him. He found himself in marvel of the Count's deep, Transylvanian speech as the next word spilled from the Count's tantalizing lips.

"Gluttony…" The voice lowered to a lethal hiss in memory of the blood his victims spilled for him, and the echoes of their pained wails, trapped in a loop inside the vampire's sadistic mind.

As the Count uttered the last of the Seven, the hunter took a daring, silent step into the chamber. He stared at the disturbing image of the girl in the containment glass and was utterly sickened by the mere sight.

Dracula continued with the baptism with the introduction of the last component… the key… the one of highest priority.

"All of these are bound within the shadows…"

The two men moved quietly, each silently signaling to the other.

"All of the Seven stem from One…"

Their hearts raced…

"One… that man has given evil the pleasure of observing multiple times…"

Wings spread in the shadows behind the friar, poised to strike…

"One…"

The hunter sensed the danger… too late.

"…Which many succumb."

Only a moment passed before Carl was enveloped in those wings and swept into the Count's firm hold. Carl, shocked out of all rational thought, could merely whimper as extreme terror held him in its claws. Alongside the Count was Verona, the second of the brides, standing with all the grace befitting royalty.

Her grey wings folded back as she watched the horror in the friar's eyes sink into the blue irises.

"FEAR." The vampire drew the friar's fear into the girl's containment chamber, allowing her heart to grip the sense of fear that Carl provided. A deep chuckle highlighted the glorious moment.

"The origin of all Seven…" To Van Helsing's horror, the Count released Carl to faint onto the cold flooring. To the hunter's greater suffering, the friar ceased to move.

_Carl…_

"With all the words of evil advent, I call upon thee, child…"

Van Helsing's fists clenched in suppressed anger as he watched Kida — or what remained — twitch and quake in response to the authoritative voice. Igor and all Dwergi ceased their activity and witnessed the birth of a new shadow.

"ARISE!"

The glass immediately cracked and liquid leaked, and the ground began to quake as the girl awakened. As her amber eyes opened, the glass broke, freeing the newborn evil.

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I don't know if you see where this is going. I guarantee, though, that you will see the reason for the overall title in the seventh chapter. There will be an epilogue. A short one. Narrative poem. Thank you for the reviews ** insert name here ** and **Loki**. And yes, I get what ** insert name here ** means by the lighthearted phrase "The result being that you get angry at me and stab me repeatedly with sporks…" Note that I call ** insert name here **by the name ** insert name here ** because she (he?) fails to give me her (his?) name in her (his?) reviews. ** insert name here **, your queries will be answered in the seventh chapter and the epilogue.

† Ciao!


	8. Chapter Seven: Finality

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the Van Helsing characters. I only own Kida. The italicized composition also does not belong to me. It belongs to an anonymous writer.

**Van Helsing: Blood Rain**

**Chapter Seven: Finality**

The girl emerged from her manmade womb; hair and wings dripping with thick fluid. The newly born heart's beat spread throughout the chamber, and with each of its beats had lain mankind's fate.

_Why this little girl? And how is she connected to the fate of thousands everywhere?_

That question that lingered unfailingly in Van Helsing's mind through the centuries, was about to be answered with an intimidating display of her awesome power.

Her amber eyes locked briefly with Dracula's before they strayed to the environment. As she did, the torches that gave the chamber its light flickered and dimmed as the focused glare memorized every aspect of the tower, pinning every living being's movement with the mere gaze.

Beside her, the friar gave a slight shift. The girl merely glanced at him then turned back to the figure standing before her. Dracula stood with an outstretched hand and a smile that would have resembled a genuine act of tenderness, of the eyes that accompanied it had not been empty and desolate.

In the outstretched hand rested the worn, stuffed griffin that the hunter had seen with Kida time and time again. Though in the fading light, the comfort object that Kida once held within her little arms seemed… dead.

"Welcome to the human plane… Cadence." In the vampire's lethally beautiful azure eyes came the unmistakable flicker of mankind's ultimate doom.

The girl merely nodded dismissively, as the corrupt heart would not permit otherwise. Cadence — the name of the newly baptized — accepted the stuffed creature with less than eager hands.

_Pride…_ Igor thought to himself in wonder. _How could a little girl have so much?_

Van Helsing set his jaw determinedly and went about the newly formed plan rushing through his mind. Instinct was the fuel for this courageous attempt, and although Van Helsing was kept alive by this instinct, the impulse-driven line of reasoning was poor basis for a plan.

Cadence eyed the tall man with contempt. Even with the knowledge that the man was Lucifer's personal pawn, her gaze washed over him with the air of suppressed jealousy.

The evident envy of the girl brought a despicable chuckle to the vampire's lips. "Aah… pure, untainted envy… you give me so much of it." An almost adoring smirk came to his lips. "Good."

At that moment, the whizzing of Van Helsing's tojo blades reached for the vampire's neck from above. He nonchalantly dodged it and allowed the strong, unseen force push Van Helsing upward, slamming him bodily into the rock ceiling. The girl, firmly rooted to the ground, giggled at the sound of the hunter's pained groan and continued to slam him upward repeatedly until all thoughts of resistance was beyond him.

The girl's evident desire for pain assured the Count that lust had set in and was being displayed by the well-corrupted spirit.

The Count's eyes closed s he heard the hunter's groans and allowed himself to drown in momentary bliss. The girl seemed not to want to share the hunter's anguish with the Count, whom was increasingly confident that the Fourth of the Seven had, in fact, taken effect.

"Greed." The Count then looked up at the hunter, and smirked. "Van Helsing… are you not happy for the girl?" A disturbingly lighthearted laugh replaced the silence of the chamber. "She is doing well for a child." Dracula glanced meaningfully at Cadence. "So far, she has shown me the Fourth of the Seven Sins."

Through the pain, Van Helsing managed to give a defiant snort. "Why are you even wasting your time on your stupid antics? Even now, you continue your self-obsessed quests for approvement and appreciation. You could have been doing something with your da—" A short, strangled gasp followed as an immature, but pure wrath took the hunter's breath in annoyance at his ability to speak.

A short, sharp pang of anger and agony staked the Count through the heart. The hunter's arrogant words awakened mortal memories hidden for long, hard, cold centuries in the vampire's subconscious.

"You haven't changed, I see." The vampire sighed, then shook his head. "My so-called _antics_ would have saved millions… But you…" Dracula cringed accusingly at the hunter. "You whom I called my closest friend and confidant… you were the first to discourage me."

The girl allowed Dracula his rant and continued to hold the hunter to the ceiling with her powerful gaze.

"You… you were the person who led them to believe that my research was black sorcery. You had me condemned… because of my knowledge." Dracula nudged the now motionless friar with a foot. "I am surprised the monk hasn't met the same fate."

_Friar…_ Van Helsing thought, fondly recalling the times that he'd enjoyed with Carl, with many people having to be corrected of the friar's title.

Cadence impatiently clicked her tongue and lazily released the hunter from the ceiling. The hunter plummeted a few feet before being pushed back up against the hard stone. A corner of Dracula's mouth quirked upward in a smirk. "The Sixth. Hmm… Very good, Cadence. But where is the Seventh?"

Cadence merely shrugged as her gaze continued to hold an exhausted Van Helsing to the ceiling.

Dracula turned once again to the man on the ceiling. "But, then again, Gabriel, I have you to thank for this power coursing through this hollow form. Also, it is you who will contribute to the last Sin."

Van Helsing briefly coughed, and blood spilled from his mouth and dripped quietly onto the tower's flooring.

The girl observed the droplets of blood and the small streams they created between the stones. After a few seconds, she fixed Van Helsing with a hungry, amber gaze and used the cold, Transylvanian winds to quickly slice shallow wounds on the hunter's body.

His blood came in small streams and rained down on both the Count and Cadence.

Cadence greedily consumed the hunter's blood with the voracity of the Count himself. And, Dracula, now more than satisfied, permitted the warm crimson to drip onto his face, shoulders, and arms and slide down to drown him in the hunter's agony.

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This is the last chapter of Blood Rain. There shall be a sequel. For Van Helsing's fans, I am truly sorry for Van Helsing's torment… The sequel is prologued by the epilogue on the next "page". I hope that you will find it satisfactory.

FireBlood


	9. Epilogue: Torn

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the Van Helsing characters. I only own Kida. The italicized composition also does not belong to me. It belongs to an anonymous writer. I own this epilogue. It belongs to me and no other.

**Van Helsing: Blood Rain**

**Epilogue: Torn**

So ends the prelude of the saga,

Of the epic tale of vengeance.

Once the evil was the good,

And injustice had been justice.

The light had been the darkness,

And current darkness sought the light.

The hundred demons in that valley

Writhed and shouted at the night.

The hunter crawled pathetically

To the friar's fallen side,

And there he lay himself to rest

Upon the cold stone's fallen pride.

Morrow'd come, there would be time

For the doomed pair's chance to leave.

They must hasten back to Rome,

To the See before doom's eve.


End file.
